Final Fantasy Hacktics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHnDxY1IYhw (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHnDxY1IYhw)

They liked the title screen :)
(not really necessary, though)

- elemental text still bugs me
- tennis shoes!?
- weapons and items are way too cool.
- we need to work on job sprites. BIG TIME.

part2
- script is good, needs some revising :P

To sum up this whole thing in two words:

HOLYYYYYY SHIEEEEETTTTTTTT :d

Mike, what about the script do you feel needs revising? We had to leave out a few components do to certain restraints, so keep that in mind.

yeah, the new Ramza armor does look good

Quote from: "Eternal248"Mike, what about the script do you feel needs revising? We had to leave out a few components do to certain restraints, so keep that in mind.

Not much. For me, the text showing/placing is important. So, how a text ends is important. (I think that isn't your job) :)

I enjoyed it, but I do agree with Archeal's commentary, it's nothing like Tactics the original. Totally can't just have five people in a battle, which makes preparations much more vital.

Wow...Amazing. Awesome video. I can't wait till Mercenaries is done.
Give a big applause for all the members hard work ^^
Also, great naming on all the weapons, armors and etc. And some items have great descriptions, reach to two pages at least.
Amazing ^^

EDIT: The part where Gafgarion ran and attack Rondel but Rondel teleported...That's amazing. And the conversion, funny and epic at the same time;
"Assassin is such a vulgar word and I am not a vulgar man. I prefer the term "Lifeflame Extinguisher"..."Don't insult my intelligence", "Don't insult my eye"..

Awesome! Seeing so much new items and skills is great. Except for the bugy battle conditions and that kind of minor stuff it looks very, very promising

*applauds everyone involved*

QuoteThe part where Gafgarion ran and attack Rondel but Rondel teleported...That's amazing.

Indeed. I love that event.

You guys have really outdone yourselves. Kudos to all of the Mercenaries Team.  Especially Lasting dawn, for his creative mind and inability to keep descriptions short. =)

Quote from: "Redux"You guys have really outdone yourselves. Kudos to all of the Mercenaries Team.  Especially Lasting dawn, for his creative mind and inability to keep descriptions short. =)

That's just one battle. Thanks for the praises!
Hope we could make the next video preview a lot better.

QuoteTotally can't just have five people in a battle, which makes preparations much more vital.

What does this mean, by the way?

You'll have more party members, even if they're guests right? Or you'll have playable guests?

I remember LD saying that it'd be similar to FFIV, where throughout the whole game your party changed constantly and you never knew who was gonna end up in your final team.

that's a good way to keep things interesting

QuoteYou'll have more party members, even if they're guests right? Or you'll have playable guests?

sometimes, but I think the majority of the time it's just Rad and Ramza w/ Gafgarion as a guest. and you don't control what gafgarion comes in with

Quotesometimes, but I think the majority of the time it's just Rad and Ramza w/ Gafgarion as a guest. and you don't control what gafgarion comes in with

I see. Interesting indeed.

That's correct, it is in that respect like FFIV, but no, your Actual team never goes past Rad and Ramza, Hedin will crystalize when put into battle and Squolar just gives you useful hints to the next fight. By "guests" I mean those that are on the field on your side, for instance...

In Chapter 1 Lavian "joins" you shortly on, but leaves after Zeklaus, in Chapter 2 you end up fighting her and the other Konoe Knights in Zirekile Falls. (not exactly a spoiler since I've already alluded to it... oh several times) Allies leave and go, some even turn against you, they're as fickle as the wind.

I wouldn't be so unwilling to use the Slow and Berserk stuff.  You had two of each.  Pile on both the Slow armor and the shield and you get the benefits of both for the penalty of one.  And both wolf items on the same character should be potent enough to keep the character useful in the battle, I think.  Actually I would have been rather interested in seeing how a berserked character would have fared with both wolf items.

Well the Slow and Wolf items are sets...

Sure one piece may not be worth it but two or three, just for the price of Slow may be worth it, here is how it goes...

Slow Set -

Obelisk - + 2 PA, only one handed spear in the game, and the most powerful to boot, all for the price of slow.
Gigas Bulwark - + 2 PA 45 Physical Evasion  all for the price of Slow
Bulky Plate - at 150 HP it is the highest HP giving item in the game, once again for the price of Slow.
Giant's Helm - at 120 HP Vastly outweighs any helmet to an HP range, just for Slow
Heavy Ring - The creme de la creme (I know I butchered that...) Always Protect, Always Slow. This set is the Ultimate in Tanking gear, though you are of course... a bit slow.

Then there's the Berserker's Set...

Wolf Helm - at 60 HP it is the highest HP hat in the game (not including hacked Kanbabrif gear)
Wolf Pelt - By Far doubling the highest other HP cloth in the game at 100 HP.
Wolf Paws - And once again, it is the accessory of choice which pulls the set together. This gives +3 Move, +1 PA, all for the price of Berserk, this almost makes it certain that the Berserked recipient would be able to strike an opponent (if properly equipped).

Now that you put them this way, the DO look useful
I see everything's very thought out.

That's one of my favorite things about Mercenaries: nothing is perfect and everything has some flaw. You can get a whopping HP increase, but end up with some ulterior status effect. It forces you, the player, to choose wisely and make concessions. Very smart, very smart.

As for the video itself, the script was nice, the new item names and icons really made me happy--by the way, if the Leather Jacket was black you could easily pass it off as the Gambler's jacket...just saying. The event itself seemed fairly seamless, so good job on that. I wasn't too partial to the Arbalist's sprite--occasionally the sprite looks off. And good move not changing the job sprites yet--I don't think people would be ready for all these new job names and sprites--it'd be too much to handle.


I was happy to hear my name mentioned at the beginning of the first video, even though I didn't anything. :>


EDIT: Professor's Rod description says "These were given to only Professors of Magic at Gariland's Magic Academy..." but it should say "These were only given to...", right? I dunno, maybe not.

And in the historical document Feud Between Larg and Goltana, the second sentence says "They are fighting for the regency, ho will be guardian to the Prince", should be "who", methinks.

Bulky Plate's description has issues on its second page: should say stronger than humans (not "then humans") and I think you need to scoot the period over a space after "defenses".

I'm sure you'd catch these, but I figured I'd post 'em here for ya. Right now I have other things to attend to, but if I find more I'll let you know. [/i]

Then and than, haha! One of my greatest weaknessess...
Well keep in mind that I haven't Actually changed anything in their yet, no Documents have been written, those were the normal ones in the game. Hmm, with Professor's Rod I though the two would be interchangable? I might be wrong on that front of course, hehe. Thankfor the corrections though.

Anytime.

Heh, I'm unsure about the Professor's Rod one too...And I probably should have picked up on the Larg and Goltana one not being yours--it seemed too common knowledge...Anyhow, I'll try and continue looking through the video later. Hopefully I won't find [m]any more grammar-type errors.

Nice one, mav.
And about the Professor's Rod, I think both are correct right? Or...I'm wrong? Both sounds fine. Haha. My grammar isn't good.
And I'm liking the sets. Like mav said, perfect, at the same time, flaws.
Its all about making wise decisions to work with the battle plans and suitable in the battle.
Really nice ^^

question Mr LD, since your party is limited to to 3 and you cant invite ppl, how would Ramza fight random encounters?

Quote from: "winshmo"question Mr LD, since your party is limited to to 3 and you cant invite ppl, how would Ramza fight random encounters?

Randoms are themselves classified as missions, including Gafgarion and often containing their own generated guest characters and occasionally unique conditions and events.  So really they're fought like any other Mercenaries battle.

Might be a little outdated by now, but original thread:

http://www.ffhacktics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1510 (http://www.ffhacktics.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1510)

Tough part. Interesting, but I don't like it that much.
Why would someone fight for the guys who are on a mission?

it somehow removes the fun of raising "own characters".

Quotequestion Mr LD, since your party is limited to to 3 and you cant invite ppl, how would Ramza fight random encounters?

I think,* you'll have random guests to fight for you with random classes as well.

If so, then it could be interesting. Like a mystery, because won't know who will be encountered.
Exciting. ^^

also, they should have equip change!
why would you buy cool weapons if you can't use it??

use but dont keep huh

Er, Equip Change is a no-go.  It would allow you to purchase crap and then swap it out for the guests' gear, netting you good gear for dirt cheap.

Hahaha. That's absolute correct Silvas! That's exactly what I did to Gafgarion before his betrayal.
Really cheap =p ( I meant me ^^)

Finally got around to watching the videos and wow, so very impressed. I mean, just blown away.

Part 1: I love the equips that we have seen. They are fantastic. It is so apparent that the different effects of each piece of equipment is a major factor, and it's no longer going to be as easy as upgrading to each new piece that comes along since they are all virtually the same with bigger HP/MP boosts (ahem, as in the original).

I think that is amazing and shows great thinking. You are making even the earliest pieces of equipment seem viable as you may desire or even need their effects for any particular battle. I just love that idea, and I love the variation.

Tactics really suffered from a lack of variation in weaponry/armor, Mercenaries CERTAINLY will not. Every benefit comes with its own cost. Every item needs to be considered and compared to find the best cost/benefit ratio. Major kudos.

Also I paused a hundred times in this video to read everything, and I love what I am seeing. So many little tidbits of information for someone like me to pore over! Honestly, just thrilled with the items you've created and implemented. I especially liked the Brigade Helm and its description.

Part 2: Oh my goodness I loved that opening dialogue. So many cutting remarks and insults being hurled around. You can just feel the long hatred and rivalry these two share. Ramza and Rad are pissed and not enjoying the encounter anymore than Gafgarion is! I just loved it. Uribos before the plate, just as bold and inept as you, Rondel really stole the show and the scene!

The backstory between Rondel and Gafgarion being laid out on the Blood Sword is genius. It is a tale that revolves around the Blade, so it fits in so wonderfully and doesn't feel forced at all.

I love all the variation in the Invoker skills. No longer is it just the same range/CT/power with different elements, they are all unique with their own uses as different as the very elements themselves. Beautiful.

Part 3: Battle looked very fun! Lots of great dialogue again. Great showcase of skills. Gafgarion was so strong though that he made it easy!

Quote from: "winshmo"question Mr LD, since your party is limited to to 3 and you cant invite ppl, how would Ramza fight random encounters?

There's actually four characters that join your team, Rad, Ramza, Hedin (when placed becomes a crystal) and Squolar at the start of Patch 2, unlike Hedin he cannot be placed in battle, he only gives helpful hints to the battle that's ahead. But I digress...

Dormin hit's the nail on the head, each Random Battle is a "Sub-Mission", with their own random scenarios, to keep with the theme of "adaptation".

Quote from: "MiKeMiTchi"Tough part. Interesting, but I don't like it that much. :P
why would you buy cool weapons if you can't use it??

Equip Change is innate to Rad and Ramza only, for pretty obvious reasons. It follows the theme of adapting to the surroundings in battle.

Quote from: "beawulfx"Finally got around to watching the videos and wow, so very impressed. I mean, just blown away.

Part 1: I love the equips that we have seen. They are fantastic. It is so apparent that the different effects of each piece of equipment is a major factor, and it's no longer going to be as easy as upgrading to each new piece that comes along since they are all virtually the same with bigger HP/MP boosts (ahem, as in the original).

I think that is amazing and shows great thinking. You are making even the earliest pieces of equipment seem viable as you may desire or even need their effects for any particular battle. I just love that idea, and I love the variation.

Tactics really suffered from a lack of variation in weaponry/armor, Mercenaries CERTAINLY will not. Every benefit comes with its own cost. Every item needs to be considered and compared to find the best cost/benefit ratio. Major kudos.

Also I paused a hundred times in this video to read everything, and I love what I am seeing. So many little tidbits of information for someone like me to pore over! Honestly, just thrilled with the items you've created and implemented. I especially liked the Brigade Helm and its description.

Thanks for the compliments, I was actually a bit worried about the armor portion, I put as much creativity in it as I could, but with only 4F slots to work with... I really couldn't put in everything I had wanted, in terms of Item Attributes. Also I am glad to see Someone likes to read descriptions, haha! It seems the attitude of most on that regard is "too long, don't read". I am glad to see it being appreciated though.

QuotePart 2: Oh my goodness I loved that opening dialogue. So many cutting remarks and insults being hurled around. You can just feel the long hatred and rivalry these two share. Ramza and Rad are pissed and not enjoying the encounter anymore than Gafgarion is! I just loved it. Uribos before the plate, just as bold and inept as you, Rondel really stole the show and the scene!

The backstory between Rondel and Gafgarion being laid out on the Blood Sword is genius. It is a tale that revolves around the Blade, so it fits in so wonderfully and doesn't feel forced at all.

I love all the variation in the Invoker skills. No longer is it just the same range/CT/power with different elements, they are all unique with their own uses as different as the very elements themselves. Beautiful.

Haha! You have Eternal to thank for pulling off that scene with the finesse shown,except the Blood Sword lunge towards Rondel and teleport away, that was a last minute addition because I needed a reasonable way to get Rondel back to his original spot. Rondel tends to do that when he shows up, haha! A very foppish man, but he has talent to back it up. Though unfortunately due to time constraints and my own lack of knowledge I wasn't able to get in everything I wanted, eh well, that will just be in the final then, hehe. As for the Invoker skills... Razele made a "hack" a long time ago, which is supposed to give their formula MA + X % chance to hit, so it's not So broken, currently It is almost completely worthless to use anything but Explosion any chance you get, but that should in reality only have a 30 + MA% chance to hit. I'll need to ask Zodiac for help on that... since Razele was not known to make those sort of mistakes.

QuotePart 3: Battle looked very fun! Lots of great dialogue again. Great showcase of skills. Gafgarion was so strong though that he made it easy!

Hehe, let me tell you the RNG Goddess must Despise me! She gave Voldemort the Easiest setup one could hope for! It's rather a shame... that battle has a maximum of five foes that can show up, only three did, Rondel had a chance Not to equip the Slow armor, but he did, the game has Never given me Two Hands on my test runs, yet it did for Voldemort, bahaha! Believe me, this battle was not meant to be that easy, Voldemort was just blessed by the RNG Goddess. I even removed a possible unit to Make the battle possible, and here he comes with his luck of the gods! Though that's party of the beauty of Mercenaries, you might be caught off guard by a battle you've already fought when the game decides to up the ante, adversely a battle which you may feel was next to impossible is suddenly made possible when that sudden loss, brings up more managable foes, as I said, adaptation is 90% of the strategy in Mercenaries.

Oh.. Sorry for my lack of knowledge with the game itself.
Sir LD, can you explain to me how the units join and works with the party, and the party itself?

Well they don't "join" actually... they're controllable guests in battle, that's pretty much it, no one ever actually joins your team except Hedin and Squolar (who is Not actually on your team, he's just sending you information) We should probably do a character profile on Squolar this Friday, since tthe Biggs/Wedge picture has been delayed it seems.

So, you can only buy items just for Rad, Ramza and Gafgarion?

btw, Who's Squolar?

Just for Rad and Ramza, Gafgarion is always five levels above the party, he can't be controlled in terms of equipment or abilities, he is your boss after all, haha!
Squolar's main role will be revealed in an upcoming Character Profile, probably this Friday.

Ah LD I really like your style. While that battle may have been made easy for Arch, the random nature of the game means it will be fun to play through a few times because usually you won't get so lucky, and things will always be different than you remember. It's a good idea to create a wealth of re-playability. The only thing I would suggest is that when you get farther in, near the end, that there isn't even a chance for it to be at all easy, but I'm sure you are already working on that or have it set up in such a way!

It's good to know that balance issues are at the fore as well; I was more just impressed by the different ranges and AOEs and status effects that they can cause, which makes them all useful in their own situations. Black Magic while a useful skillset in some ways was extremely boring in its damage capability. I didn't really notice anything about the damage output or anything.

Looking forward to more previews and info, as always.

I get it now! (well, somehow)

It becomes a 4 person RPG/strategy now! Epic. Really.
The story will then have more focus on the main characters themselves, not the other classes/units,
plus the guest members!

So they're, Rad, Ramza, Gafgarion, and a guest main role character everytime! I see. Is that how it works??
That's quite cool.

So to speak... at least for the first chapter it runs like that, the second chapter mixes it up a bit, the third chapter has a few familiar faces and the fourth chapter... oh my the fourth chapter, I think you'll all love it!

did someone notice the Infrantry Hem?

Quote from: "Sir LD"So to speak... at least for the first chapter it runs like that, the second chapter mixes it up a bit, the third chapter has a few familiar faces and the fourth chapter... oh my the fourth chapter, I think you'll all love it!

Hearing you say that makes me think that we'll love it.

Quote from: "Bloodthirster0"did someone notice the Infrantry Hem?

Yeah.

I see you used my dark-armor Ramza, with those legs, he looks cool .

I agree Kage--that palette tweak on Ramza looks magnificent in game.